What are the Characteristics of Concave and Convex Mirror?
In Physics, students often encounter the term, spherical mirrors, while learning about how light is deflected and at what angles. Several concepts and chapters are directly derived from it. There are two types of spherical mirrors, Convex Mirrors and Concave Mirrors.
Convex mirrors and concave mirrors differ in their principles. In simple terms, convex mirrors bulge outside whereas the concave mirror bulges from inside.
Tapering figures represent convex mirrors while broadening ones refer to concave mirrors.
While, both, convex and concave mirrors have different principles, the complexities and comparisons need to be dealt with elaborately. From plane to spherical mirrors, to concave to convex mirrors, the differences attach immense importance to physics students, as well we those who deal with as part of academics as well as profession.
We are happy to take you through various aspects of convex mirrors and concave mirrors. We cover:
Convex mirror uses
Concave mirror uses
Convex mirror examples
Concave mirror examples
Characteristics of convex mirrors
Characteristics of concave mirrors
Convex mirror diagrams
Concave mirror diagrams
Through ray diagram, as well as formula, we will also help you understand the difference between concave mirror and convex mirror, more clearly
What are Plane Mirror and Spherical Mirror?
However, before we delve into types of convex mirrors and concave mirrors, let us first talk about the basics of Plane Mirrors and Spherical Mirrors, and how they are different from each other, as well as their applications.
Plane Mirror
A plane mirror is a mirror that has a flat and smooth surface, which in turn, always forms a virtual form of the object, with exact shape and size, when it reflects. Commonly, plane mirrors are those which people generally use in dressing rooms or makeup tables. A plane mirror is known for providing exact image.
A plane mirror is used for a wide range of applications and purposes that include periscopes and kaleidoscopes, auto industry, mirrors for domestic use, medical especially dental, and torch lights, besides security-related purposes.
In terms of physics, when light rays hit a plain mirror, the angle of reflection will be the same as the angle of incidence. In plain mirrors, the images are generally laterally inverted, and are erect. The focal length of a plain mirror is counted as infinity.
Spherical Mirror
Spherical mirrors are also referred to as curved mirrors, where they have a shape cut out of the spherical surface. Under a spherical mirror, there are two categories: convex mirror and concave mirror. The spherical mirror and its equation hold significant importance in science, owing to its association with optics.
Unlike plane mirrors, spherical mirrors, both convex mirrors and concave mirrors, have a radius if curvature with a consisting curve, which results in the formation of an image that can be either virtual or real.
A Spherical Mirror that has a reflective surface inside, is called the converging mirror. The main attribute of the concave mirror is that it focuses on pointing the light from the source falling on it, into a single point. And generally, the image formed by these types of mirrors usually varies based on the size, shape, and position of the object.
Characteristics of Concave Mirror
The major characteristics of concave mirrors are listed below,
Converging: A concave mirror is a converging one because, light rays that hit it reflect on the surface, and merge at a particular point. This point is known as a focal point. Concave mirrors allow light to focus to a point.
Magnification and formation of image: Place a concave mirror close to any object and you will notice that it shows a magnified image that is straight, erect, and of course virtual. The image looks to be larger than the actual size of the object. The concave mirror also looks upright. The reason why concave mirrors feature the formation of virtual images is that the rays that reflect look to diverge from a point located behind the mirror.
Distance and image properties: In concave mirrors, when the distance between the object and the concave mirror increases, the size of the image decreases. At a particular distance, , the image changes to virtual. Under this circumstance, the true image, in an inverted form manifests on the opposite side of the concave mirror.
Image formations: concave mirrors create images of different sizes, and diverse in nature, from real to virtual. These features enhance the importance of concave mirrors, which they are widely used in various applications, from domestic to scientific
Convex mirror is also a spherical mirror and is exactly opposite of concave mirrors in its properties.
Let us first understand convex mirror through its basic definition:
A convex mirror is a type of spherical mirror that has a reflective surface towards the outside of the bulge, and it is also referred to as diverging mirror. Unlike convex mirrors, in a concave mirror, the light falling on the object diverges as it reflects through the mirror. And generally, as the distance between the source and the object decreases, the size of the image formed increases.
Characteristics of Convex Mirror
Diverging: A convex mirror is a standard diverging mirror because when light rays hit the reflecting surface, they diverge or spread. Unlike concave mirrors, convex mirrors cause the light rays to diverge from the definite focal point.
Types of images – from virtual to diminishing: irrespective of the distance between the object and the convex mirror, the images formed are virtual, uprights, and diminished. The image appears erect and smaller too compared to the actual size of the object. The image also appears on the rear side of the mirror. When you trace it backward, the virtual image forms through the intersection of diverging rays.
View–Wide: Convex mirrors have an incredible feature to offer a broad canvas of view. This is because they possess an outwardly curved shape, and thus convex mirrors capture a wider area in reflection in comparison with flat and concave mirrors. Due to this, concave mirrors are used whenever there is a need for a larger perspective and a more expansive view. These can be large grounds for parking, sporting, meeting, and intersections, and where security, surveillance, and monitoring are involved
Image – magnitude, and distance: convex mirrors are known to produce virtual images that are closer to the mirror than the object. The image that is formed by convex mirrors looks diminished and gives an impression of being smaller than the object’s real size. Due to this reduction, in the size of the image, a more expansive area can be captured for reflection. In summary, through convex mirrors, the light diverges as it strikes the reflecting surface The Convex mirrors always result in diminished, erect, and virtual images, regardless of the distance between the mirror and the object.
We hope this article cleared the complete information of Ray Diagrams of concave mirrors and ray diagrams for convex mirrors and the differences. Besides, the types of mirrors, use of convex mirrors, use of concave mirrors.
As you are aware, many topics such as this in Physics are often complex, and the students often end up struggling to understand these topics and subjects. So, in this process, it is wiser to join an online coaching platform that offers various amazing features for the students to get a better grasp of the subject. One such online tutoring platform is Tutoroot, which offers online interactive classes for students in a personalised, yet effective manner. Enroll with Tutoroot today.
